International Expansion of Indowestern Brands

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INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION OF INDO-
WESTERN BRANDS RISING FROM INDIA

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents.....................................................................................................................2
Chapter 1 : Introduction............................................................................................................3
Context to the study..............................................................................................................5
Philosophical position...........................................................................................................6
Aim.......................................................................................................................................7
Objectives.............................................................................................................................7
Chapter 2 : Literature Review..................................................................................................8
Overview of the study...........................................................................................................8
Chapter 3 : Research Methodology.......................................................................................11
Introduction.........................................................................................................................11
Research Philosophy (Philosophical Position)...................................................................12
Research design.................................................................................................................13
Research strategy..............................................................................................................15
Primary approach...............................................................................................................16
Sampling strategy...............................................................................................................17
Data analysis......................................................................................................................17
Appendix:...............................................................................................................................20
Chapter 4 : Key findings.........................................................................................................23
Key findings from the questionnaire from the FGD............................................................23
Comparison of findings with literature review.....................................................................26
Chapter 5 : Summary and conclusion....................................................................................28

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Chapter 1 : Introduction
This research evaluates the factors that affect the success of Indo-western brands expanding
into the West. According to a report by Keller et al. (2014), the global apparel industry is
growing rapidly while at the same time evolving due to a number of factors including
changing demographics, effect of social media, global wealth distribution, customer
expectations, and technological advancements. It goes on to state that for brands to succeed,
they need to be agile and be able to rapidly adapt the business model to make the most of
evolving markets while letting go of traditional practices.
East Asian brands have started to expand to foreign markets with the aim of providing a
variety of both traditional and fusion fashion to their international consumers. However, in
spite of a noticeable growth, Indian brands have faced issues such as cultural problems, lack
of pricing strategies, etc. This research has tried to show the issues which are faced by Indian
designers (with the main focus on Indo-Western brands) while trying to expand their business
to Western countries.
Indo-western brands have been trying to expand into the west for quite some time now,
however their efforts have not borne much meaningful fruits (Aaker & McLoughlin, 2010).
There are various reasons behind this and there are many challenges that the Indo-western
brands actually face in their aim to make an entry in western markets. This particular research
is going to discuss the topic of why Indo-western brands have not been in a position to
successfully expand to the west, and in doing so certain aspects about Indo-western brands
and designs and some market expansion strategies will be looked at. Due to various factors
such as changes in technology among others, we’ve seen that the Indo-western brands and
designs have been evolving. Fashion has taken a completely different turn and things are not
the way they used to be a decade ago. Indo-western brands have done well in various areas

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across the globe such as in some developing countries like Kenya, Tanzania among others
(Ackerman & Fisher, 2013). There has been a challenge, however, that has been noted, that in
the western market, Indo-western brands have not been able to do so well.
It is also important to note that this report will focus solely on Indian brands and some of the
issues that they have faced. Some of the common challenges noticed were; poor marketing
strategies, cultural differences among others. These factors will be discussed later in this
write-up.
Figure 1: Fashion trends
(Source: zaubacorp.com, 2018)

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Context to the study
Indian fashion brands have been making a lot of effort to succeed in the western countries.
Many areas of the Indian businesses have done well like its technological field, medicine
research and its production and supply and on academic fields. Even in the fashion industry
Indian designers have worked at being creative and modern in their aesthetics, styles and
designs in order to expand their brands in the western countries. However, with this field
being highly contemporary and competitive, they have not been very successful in focusing
on the demands of their western customers when enlarging their market in those countries
(Liu et al. 2016). However, in a globalised economy, there is a lot of opportunities for brands
to expand internationally, and Asian and indo-western brands should look to do this if they
are to attain the same level of success that western brands have been able to get in the eastern
and emerging markets.
Indo-western brands should learn to adapt and keep up with the constantly changing fashion
industry, be it fast fashion, ecommerce, and e-tailing in the digital race for the upcoming
trends. There are a lot of opportunities in the near future. Studies shows that the fashion
Industry and its buying power and audience, iand ts target markets are fast shifting from the
West to the upcoming Asian and East-Asian markets (Keller et all, 2014).
The emerging middle class from developing nations are going through a huge socioeconomic
change, and countries like India, China, Indonesia etc. have started to emerge with higher
spending power in recent years (Eizenberg and Salvo, 2012). There is also a growing
awareness and curiosity among western consumers in Asian cultures and sensibilities, so
business from these markets should aim to tap into this new and emerging market segment
within the west.

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Philosophical position
There has always been an argument about whether or not it is true that Indo-western brands
have been having a challenge in expanding to the western market. This report aims to
ascertain if it is indeed true that there has been a really big challenge in doing so. Various
reasons and factors have been attributed to this and this report aims towards establishing
some of these factors and how they have contributed the state mentioned therein (Gershon,
2013). The report will aim to outline the various ontological, axiological, and epistemological
aspects of the research and elaborate on all of these concerns, and provide justifications for
the different research approaches and choices that have been made in the report. Management
studies, being a multi-disciplinary field, can be looked at from various different aspects and
viewpoints, and the research will approach this in a specific way which is considered to be
the most appropriate for achieving the research aims.
A reputable research philosophy has the following characteristics as explained by Saunders
(2015) - “assumptions about human knowledge (epistemological assumptions), about the
realities you encounter in your research (ontological assumptions) and the extent and ways
your own values influence your research process (axiological assumptions). These
assumptions inevitably shape how you understand your research questions, the methods you
use and how you interpret your findings”.

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Aim
To identify and evaluate the factors on the challenges faced by Indian brands while
expanding in Western countries. The research will also highlight the lack of strategic business
management by Indian brands in order to expand to the West.
Objectives
1) To critically evaluate the existing literature on overseas expansion by the East
Asian and Indo-Western brands with the aim of shedding light on the different
factors responsible for the growth of these brands in the western fashion market.
2) To apply the qualitative approach method to assess the perspective of the broader
target market with the help of focus groups. This is to mainly analyse issues
preventing Indian (Indo-Western) brands from expanding to Western countries.
3) To develop recommendations for Indo-Western brands that aim to expand
internationally by informing them on how to make their brands sell in the west.

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Chapter 2 : Literature Review
Overview of the study
The fashion industry is known to be one which is always in flux with the customer’s
preferences which is ever changing, and old trends being replaced by new and emerging ones.
Within this environment of constant change, designers, and brands must always keep
themselves up to date on what consumers want, and how their tastes will change in the near
future. This changing landscape creates many opportunities for entrepreneurs to come in and
fill in the gaps in the market which are created by being innovative and satisfying demand.
With this constant competition in mind and the never ending desire to thrive in such a huge
global market, Indo-western brands and business have been attempting their best strategies to
tap into the international fashion market.
The literature review will aim to evaluate the current state of the fashion industry and discuss
the trends and factors which have helped as well as hindered Indian fashion brands to flourish
in foreign countries. Moreover, it has analysed major challenges such as cultural diversity,
economic status, language barriers etc. which have all been challenges for expanding Indian
brands into the Western countries. According to Cayla and Eckhardt (2007), in spite of many
challenges, the emergence of Asia as a growing force in the international stage, and it’s
recognition in the west, presents a big opportunity for modern Asian brands to find their feet
and make a mark in western markets. In order to take advantage of these opportunities, Das
(2007) advocates that Indian brands should leverage their existing strengths, and formulate
strategies for international expansion by looking at the route which has been followed by
brands which have successfully made this transition.
India, in the current international market is a known brand or a tag very much in fashion.